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Writing and self care

Some days writing is easy. Some days the words flow, your schedule is open and everything seems right.

And sometimes they don’t Sometimes you just can’t seem to write anything, you’re busy all of the time and sometimes your body and mind just will not cooperate.

We love the former and hate the latter, and they exist on a fluctuating spectrum. But there is something important to remember for the bad days.

It’s ok. It’s ok to take a break. It’s ok if you can’t get your brain to cooperate and get words down, it’s ok if you haven’t had time to write because life got hectic. It. Is Ok.

A lot of the time we can get caught up in productivity, the idea that we must always be productive, and if we don’t write every single day we are somehow failing as writers. That idea is wrong. You write at the pace that you can, that you can fit into your schedule, that your body allows you to do.

Don’t forget that writing is work, even when it’s fun. It taxes the mind and after a few hours its normal to feel tired because even if you haven’t done anything physically, you’ve been using your mind vigorously for awhile.

It’s not healthy to work all day every day, there’s a reason we now have weekends. You wouldn’t tell someone they should work 7 days a week at work, why demand you write every day or your not a writer?

Consistent writing at your own pace is far more important than getting words in every day, writing is a difficult thing to do that requires a level of persistence and dedication. But don’t forget to take care of yourself too. If you take care of your brain and body, they will take care of you and the writing will flow all the better.

How about you? What does self care mean to you? What kinds of things do you do when you need to do self care?